Avaliação de quarta geração: uma análise das potencialidades e limitações baseada na experiência de avaliação do programa água para todos

Abstract

The present empiric theoretical essay hasthe objective of analyzing the potentialities and limitations of the Fourth Generation Evaluation (FGE), a model proposed by Guba and Lincoln (1989), with a social-constructivist basis. The analysis baseson the consideration of several studies that used or analyzed the model in question and the experience of using the FGE by the authors when carrying out evaluative research on the Water for All Program in the municipality of Bonito de Minas, state of Minas Gerais. As a result, the FGE is adequate to the demands of evaluating public policies in the contemporary world, in a hegemonically democratic context, where participation in decisions of public interest is an expensive value for public management and for society. Although there is a predominance of the use of AV4G for the evaluation of public health policies, this evaluation model is also suitable for evaluating policies in other areas, especially when combined with other models.